The Perfect Plan

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

THE PERFECT PLAN

Rom 8:28-30

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

NIV

This seems to be complex, yet it is simple. This is the predetermined plan for salvation for his creation. However, first we should consider the fact in all things, that is all the happenings in our lives, God works for the good, but the catch is that applies to those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. This means that not everything works for good as sin does not. If we love God, then we would not desire to sin but to live in accordance to his purpose. How do we know his purpose? That is an easy answer in the he has defined it in his word, as well as he has given us his Spirit to guide us into all truth. However, the very first purpose he called us to was to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Everything else follows that one purpose. Where some get into trouble is this foreknew and predestined. How can we not say that God foreknew every person on the earth before creation? If we want to think that then we have no truth in us for we would be limiting the knowledge of God. It is that God only foreknew those who would decide to accept Jesus, although we have to believe that he did know beforehand that we would respond to his plan for our salvation. We who have accepted his plan, he also predetermined before the foundation of the earth that we would he conformed to the likeness of his Son. In the grand scheme of things, there are those who accept and those who reject the plan of God. However, there have been before us and will be after us that have been and will be conformed to the likeness of his Son, so that Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers who will follow after his life, death, and resurrection. God also predetermined beforehand that he would call us, that is we would hear the call, and we would then be justified and gloried. This is not the doctrine of predestination, but the fact that God knows all things, every person, and every choice we will make, for if we want to boggle our minds, we need only think that there is no time with God, he operates outside the boundaries of time, therefore all that has happen and all that will happen, God has already knows. If we use a metaphor of a movie we have seen at least a dozen times, we know all the lines, and we know the end, however, we watch it unfold. God is the Alpha and the Omega, that is he began it all and he will end it all. Our task it to yield to the influence of the Spirit, living in accordance with the plan of God. This may well be completely different than our plan, but then our plans are flawed, his plan is perfect.